| Cerite | |
| Category: | Silicate mineral group |
| Imasymbol: | Crt[1] |
| System: | Trigonal |
| Class: | Ditrigonal pyramidal (3m) (same H-M symbol) |
| Symmetry: | R3c |
| Color: | Clove-brown with a reddish tinge; pale lavender-brown to colorless in thin fragments |
| Habit: | Massive granular |
| Cleavage: | None |
| Fracture: | Uneven |
| Mohs: | 5 to 5.5 |
| Luster: | Vitreous to resinous |
| Streak: | White to greyish white |
| Diaphaneity: | Subtranslucent to opaque |
| Gravity: | 4.7 to 4.86 |
| Opticalprop: | Uniaxial (+) |
| Refractive: | nω = 1.806 – 1.810 nε = 1.810 – 1.820 |
| Birefringence: | δ = 0.010 |
| References: | [2] |
Cerite is a complex silicate mineral group containing cerium, formula .[3] The cerium and lanthanum content varies with the Ce rich species (cerite-(Ce)) and the La rich species (cerite-(La)).[4] [5] Analysis of a sample from the Mountain Pass carbonatite gave 35.05% and 30.04% .[3]
Cerite was first described in 1803 for an occurrence in Bastnäs in Västmanland, Sweden.[6] The lanthanum rich species, cerite-(La) was first described for an occurrence in the Khibina massif, Kola Peninsula, Russia in 2002.[7]